Contents

Background

The mine was owned by Peabody Energy. It is one of the largest underground mines in the United States. Coal from Twentymile has a high heating value of 11,350 Btu per pound. In 2008, the mine shipped 8.6 million tons of coal to customers around the world.[1]

Twentymile is a longwall mining operation, with longwall panels that are 1,000 feet wide and more than 2 miles long. The operation's conveyor belt travels more than five miles underground and two miles on the surface, and the mine's first-ever "scissorveyor" reduces the number of belt moves required. Peabody also recently ramped up the Twentymile preparation plant, which is the largest of its kind west of the Mississippi River. The mine began operation in 1983.[1]

In January 2012, Peabody said it had secured long-term supply agreements for 40 million tons of Colorado coal and would open a new mine — Sage Creek mine — to replace its nearly tapped out Twentymile Mine. The new mine will provide an additional 105-million-ton reserve. A key contract for Sage Creek is to supply the Hayden Station, operated by Xcel Energy. But Peabody is also shipping to Europe and Asia, according to Peabody president Richard Navarre.[2]

In November 2015 Bowie Resources agreed to pay US$358 million to Peabody Energy for the Twentymile Mine outside Steamboat Springs and the El Segundo mine and Lee Ranch mine in New Mexico. Bowie also will assume about $105 million in related liabilities under the sale.[3]